Electric can opener



Feb. 18, 1964 A, H. FREEMAN ETAL 3,121,285

ELECTRIC CAN OPENER Filed Jan. 7, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig 2.

3 728/) Attarngy Feb. 18, 1964 A. H. FREEMAN ETAL 3,121,285

- ELECTRIC CAN OPENER Filed Jan. 7, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent C) 3,121,235 ELECTREC QAN @PENER Arthur H. Freeman, Eroclrport, and William Hicks,

Spencerport, N.Y., assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Jan. 7, 1953, Ser. No. 24?,879 4 (Ilaims. (Cl. 36-4) invention relates to electric can openers and more particularly to an electric can opener which provides a running pierce of the can lid.

To reduce the amount of manual force necessary to puncture the lid of the can to be opened, it has been found desirable to provide for power rotation of the can prior to puncture of the lid by the cutting mechanism.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a can opener including an improved arrangement to insure that power rotation of the can is initiated prior to puncture of the lid.

It is another object of this invention to provide such a can opener wherein immediate power cut-oil is provided upon initiation of movement of the operating means to the inoperative position.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, and the particular features or novelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Briefly stated, in carrying out the objects of our invention in one form thereof, an electric can opener is provided having a cutter which is movable by means of a manually operated lever between an inoperative position and a cutting position. An electrically powered means, which is controlled by a switch mounted within the can opener casing, is utilized for supporting and rotating a can when the can is in engagement with the cutter. A switch actuator is mounted on the manually operated lever and frictionally engaged therewith for normal joint movement with the lever, additional means being provided for cooperation with the lever and the actuator to permit relative movement therebetween. Upon the movement of the cutter by the lever to an intermediate position, the actuator closes the can opener switch and is restrained thereby to initiate powered rotation of the can prior to the cutting engagement of the cutter with the can lid.

For a better understandin of the invention, reference may be had to the following description and the accompanying drawings in which:

P16. 1 is a perspective view of a can opener embodying the present invention in which a portion of the can opener casing has been cut away to show the details of con struction;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the can opener, with a portion of the casing broken away to show the elements of the operating mechanism when they are in an inoperative position;

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view taken on line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to that of PEG. 2 in which the operating mechanism is shown in an intermediate position; and

FIG. 6 is a view similar to that of FIG. 2 in which the operating mechanism is shown in a cutting position.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows an electric can opener having a casing it} which houses an electric motor shown generally at 11. The motor in turn powers a driving wheel 12 throu h any suitable gearing (not shown). Wheel 12 supports and rotates the can to be opened by cooperation with cutter 13, can supporting pad 14 and can rim engaging elements 15 and 16. Outter 13 is rotatably mounted on a stub shaft 13a which projects through an elongated opening 17 in the front wall of the casing 19. Wheel 12 and cutter 13 are adjacently positioned to clamp the top of the can therebetween, the wheel 12 being arranged to support the beaded edge of a can so that the cutter 13 may be lowered into cutting engagement with the peripheral edge of the can lid.

The cutter 13 is manually movable from the inoperative position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, to a cutting position shown in FIG. 6, by means of a lever 18 which extends through the side Wall of the casing 19 having a notch 19. The lever 18 is biased inwardly so as to ride against the rear surfac of the side wall opening. A handle 29 is secured to the free end of lever 18 for manual operation. The cutter 13 is operatively connected to lever 18 through cutter plate 21 which is pivotal about pivot 22, lever 13 being pivotal about the axis of the drive Wheel 12 and providing a camming slot 23 for connection with pin 23a in cutter plate 21. The cutter 13 has been removed from the cutter plate shown in FIG. 2 and FIGS. 4-6 for clarity. A mounting plate 24, secured within the front portion of casing 10, supports the cutting plate 21 and also provides a projection 25. A resilient coil spring 26 is connected at one end to the projection 25 and at the other end to a groove 27 in the upper surface of lever 18 to bias the lever as well as the cutter 13 to the upper inoperative position shown in F168. 1 and 2.

In order to control the supply of power to motor 11 a switch having a movable contact 23 and a fixed contact 29, is provided in the lower portion of casing 10- beneath the above-mentioned apparatus. Movable contact 28 is secured to contact arm 39 which is pivotal about shaft 31 and is biased to the normal open position, shown in FIG. 2, by means of coil spring 32 which encircles the do turned portion 33 of contact arm fill and engages an integral portion 34 of the casing iii. A stop 30;; (best seen in MG. 4) is secured to contact arm 3i? for abutment with any suitable structure within casing 10 to limit the upward movement of the contact arm. Fixed contact 29 is mounted in the bottom of casing 18 so as to be disposed slightly beneath movable contact 22 in the open position of the switch.

in accordance with my invention, a switch actuator or member 35, of generally L-sha-pe, having a projecting portion 35a is pivotally mounted by pin 36 to lever 18. To frictionally engage member 35 with lever 13, a spring washer 37 is provided as shown in FIG. 3.

The spring washer 37 together with the other assembly elements shown in FIG. 3 permit the relative movement between member 35 and lever 13 as well as the joint movement thereof which insures the power operation of the subject can opener prior to puncture of the can lid. Washer 37 is held between a conventional washer 33 and one head of rivet 39. Rivet 39 is secured to lever 18 and rides in a slot 49 formed in member 35. This "ssembly provides normal joint movement of the mem- 35 and lever 13 and permits limited relative motion tween lever 13 and member 35. Thus if member 35 is restrained from normal joint movement with the lever 18 when the lever is pivoted about drive wheel 12, the pivotal movement of lever 18 may continue while member 35 pivots about pin 36 with respect to lever 18, rivet 35F riding in slot 49. It is to be understood that any suitable frictional engaging means may be substituted for the spring washer 37 and that, alternatively, slot 4i) and rivet 39 may be provided respectively by lever 18 and member 3-5.

Two elements of the subject can opener provide restraints on the joint motion of member 35 with lever 13. One of these elements is the movable switch arm 30 which, as can be seen in FIG. 4, lies in the path traveled by member 35. Arm 3i) restrains member 35 upon the closing of the switch contacts when lever 13 is in the intermediate position of FIG. 5. The second restraining element is the projection on mounting plate 24 which assures return of the member 35 to its original position relative to the lever 18 upon the movement of cutter 13 to the inoperative position.

The operation of the can opener is as follows. The normal inoperative position of the elements of the can opener is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. At this point cutter 13 is in its inoperative position, movable contact 255 is separated from fixed contact 29 by the upward bias of spring 32, lever 18 is in its uppermost position and rivet 39 engagesthe topmost portion of slot 44). The upper portion of the can is inserted with its rim against engaging elements 15 and 16, with wheel 12 positioned to support the beaded edge of the can and cutter 13 disposed slightly above the periphery of the can lid. Upon the depression of lever 18, by actuation of handle 20, the can opener mechanism moves to an intermediate position shown in FIG. 5. During this portion of the downward stroke of lever 18, cutter plate 21 is rotated clockwise by the lever 18 to clamp the can between wheel 12 and cutter 13 and to bring the cutter down to a point just above the lid of the can.

As no restraining forces act upon member 35, it moves jointly with lever 18 downwardly so that its projecting portion 350 engages movable contact arm 30, thereby depressing movable contact 28 against fixed contact 29 in opposition to the bias of spring 32. The closing of the control switch contacts initiates power operation of the drive wheel 12 causing the rotation of the can beneath cutter 13. At this point member 35, having its projecting portion 35a in engagement with movable contact arm 30 is restrained from further downward movement.

Upon the continuation of the downward stroke of operating lever 18 from the position of FIG. 5 to that of FIG. 6 the cutter 13 is brought into cutting engagement with the rotating can lid and rivet 39 rides in slot 40 as the lever 18 moves downwardly relative to the restrained member 35. As the can is rotating prior to the engagement of the cutter with the can lid, the can opener motor reduces the manual force required to puncture the can lid from that which would be necessary if the can was stationary. During the cutting of the lid for removal, the lever 18 is held down in the position of FIG. 6.

If it should be desired to leave the can supported by the can opener upon completion of the cutting operation, the operating lever 13 may be released so as to be held down by the notch 19 formed in the side Wall of the casing 10. The slight upward motion of the lever into engagement with notch 19 is sufiicient to move the projection a of member 35 away from movable contact arm 30 to permit the bias of spring 32 to separate contacts 28 and 29. This results from the fact that slide member 35, being in frictional engagement with lever 18 and being free of restraint in the immediate upward direction will move with the lever 18.

In order to release the can from the supporting mechanism the lever 18 is moved forward out of notch 19 and upward to return the cutter 13 to its normal inoperative position thereby releasing the can. During this upward motion the top surface of member 35 engages projection 25 of mounting plate 24 (see FIG. 2) to restrain the member 35 and thereby permit the relative motion of lever 18 with respect thereto. This restraint causes the rivet 39 to move upwardly in slot 40 to the upper portion of the slot returning the lever to its original cocked position with respect to slide member 35. To insure -cocking of member 35, cutter 13 and wheel 12 are arranged to maintain the can in the clamped position until member 35 has been returned to its orignal position with respect to lever 18 by projection 25.

This invention therefor provides an improved means for insuring the initiation of rotation of the can prior to engagement of the cutter with the can lid to reduce the force necessary to puncture the lid. Furthermore, the cooperation of slide member 35 and lever 18 insures immediate termination of motor operation upon the slight upward motion of lever 18.

While we have shown and described specific embodiment of our invention, we do not desire our invention to be limited to the particular construction shown and described. Instead, We intend, by the appended claims, to cover all modifications within the spirit and scope of our invention.

What we claim is:

l. A can opener comprising:

(a) a casing,

(b) a cutter mounted on said casing for movement between an inoperative position and a cutting position,

(c) a lever connected to said cutter and pivotally mounted for movement between a first position and a second position for shifting said cutter between said inoperative and cutting positions,

(01) electrically powered means mounted on said casing for supporting and rotating the can,

(0) a switch actuating member mounted on and operated by said lever,

(f) means frictionally engaging said lever and said member for normally causing joint movement of said member and said lever but permitting relative movement therebetween, and

(g) a switch mounted within said casing arranged to control the supply of power to said electrically powered means,

(It) a portion of said switch lying in the path of movement of said member for engagement by said member at an intermediate position of said lever to close said switch for initiating operation of said electrically powered means prior to movement of said cutter to said cutting position to provide a running pierce,

ti) said portion of said switch restraining said member upon closing of said switch to cause relative movement between said member and said lever as said lever is moved to said second position.

2. A can opener as defined in claim 1 including a projection mounted within the casing and lying within the path of movement of said member for engagement there with to insure return of said member to its original position relative to said lever during movement of said lever from said second position to said first position.

3. A can opener as defined in claim 2 wherein said cutter and said electrically powered means are adjacently positioned for clamping said can therebetween prior to, during, and subsequent to cutting, said can being so clamped until after said member has been returned to said original position by said engagement with said projection during said movement of said lever from said second position to said first position.

4. A can opener comprising:

(a) a casing,

(b) a cutter mounted on said casing for movement between an inoperative position and a cutting position,

(c) a lever member connected to said cutter and pivotally mounted for movement between a first position and a second position for shifting said cutter between said inoperative and cutting positions,

(d) a switch actuating member mounted on and operated by said lever member, one of said members having a slot therethrough, the other of said members providing a rivet, said rivet riding in said slot during relative motion of said lever member and said switch actuating member,

(e) means frictionally engaging said lever member and said switch actuating member for normally causing joint movement of said members but permitting relthe ative motion itherebetween, said frictionally engaging means including a spring washer,

(f) electrically powered means mounted on said casing for supporting and rotating a cam and,

g) a switch mounted within said casing arranged to control the supply of power to said electrically powered means,

(it) a portion of said switch lying in the path of movement of said switch actuating member for engagement by said switch actuating member at an intermediate position of said lever member to close said switch for initiating operation of said electrically powered means prior to movement of said cutter to said cutting position to provide a running pierce,

(i) said portion of said switch restraining said switch actuating member upon closing of said switch to cause relative movement between said switch actuating member and said lever member as said lever member is moved to said second position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,979,815 Rohde et al Apr. 18, 1961 3,018,549 Spielman Jan. 30, 1962 3,078,568 McLean et a1. Feb. 26, 1963 

1. A CAN OPENER COMPRISING: (A) A CASING, (B) A CUTTER MOUNTED ON SAID CASING FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN AN INOPERATIVE POSITION AND A CUTTING POSITION, (C) A LEVER CONNECTED TO SAID CUTTER AND PIVOTALLY MOUNTED FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN A FIRST POSITION AND A SECOND POSITION FOR SHIFTING SAID CUTTER BETWEEN SAID INOPERATIVE AND CUTTING POSITIONS, (D) ELECTRICALLY POWERED MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID CASING FOR SUPPORTING AND ROTATING THE CAN, (E) A SWITCH MEMBER MOUNTED ON AND OPERATED BY SAID LEVER, (F) MEANS FRICTIONALLY ENGAGING SAID LEVER AND SAID MEMBER FOR NORMALLY CAUSING JOINT MOVEMENT OF SAID MEMBER AND SAID LEVER BUT PERMITTING RELATIVE MOVEMENT THEREBETWEEN, AND (G) A SWITCH MOUNTED WITHIN SAID CASING ARRANGED TO CONTROL THE SUPPLY OF POWER TO SAID ELECTRICALLY POWERED MEANS, 